Cupcake What?

Cupcake Boutique. That's right, and if you haven't already jumped on the cupcake boutique bandwagon, it's time. As ridiculous as it may seem, cupcakes have taken the country by storm. They pop up at weddings in lieu of the traditional wedding cake. They make cameo appearances in hit shows (Magnolia Bakery in "Sex and The City"). There are clothing lines devoted to them (Johnny Cupcakes). People are even inventing carriers designed specifically to transport cupcakes! That being said, if you're going to go out and spend an arm and a leg on a cupcake or cupcake paraphernalia, there is one place you should not miss out on: Sprinkles Cupcakes. Magnolia Bakery may take to cake as the most well-known cupcake hot spot, but they are no match for Sprinkles (actually, I'd rather eat a cupcake from a boxed mix than from Magnolia's any day, and this is coming from a baking snob).

Let's do a comparison. On one hand we have Magnolia. They offer only two flavors, vanilla, and chocolate. Let's say you pick vanilla. As you unwrap your cake, the paper sticks to the dry crumb. Hmm, not good. The icing piled on top feels stiff and grainy on the roof of your mouth as you take the first bite, and the cake itself offers no moist relief from the thick, cloying glob. Do you even want the rest? Proceed to Sprinkles.

Not only does Sprinkles offer a rotating, multi-flavor cupcake schedule, there are also four Sprinkles locations so you can indulge your cupcake cravings more easily. The flagship store is in Beverly Hills; what better place for the latest trend?

For comparison's sake you pick the vanilla cupcake at Sprinkles as well. Oh, what a difference! Fluffy, tender crumb! Satiny smooth frosting! You hardly even realize that you're consuming upwards of 300 calories as the last buttery bite slides down your gullet. In fact, you still have room for one or two of Sprinkles' innovative Frosting Shots, or another cupcake.

I have yet to find a bakery in New York, Magnolia or otherwise, that can hold a sprinkle to Sprinkles. How do they do it? I wish I knew. My cupcakes, even when made from Sprinkles mixes, never turn out as rich and soft as the originals. They're velour to velvet, pleather to leather. I'm working on it! At least they're better than Magnolia's (burlap!).